Instructions

ZOOM IN by clicking on the page. A slider will appear, allowing you to adjust your zoom level. Return to the original size by clicking on the page again.

MOVE the page around when zoomed in by dragging it.

ADJUST the zoom using the slider on the top right.

ZOOM OUT by clicking on the zoomed-in page.

SEARCH by entering text in the search field and click on "In This Issue" or "All Issues" to search the current issue or the archive of back issues
respectively.
.

PRINT by clicking on thumbnails to select pages, and then press the
print button.

SHARE this publication and page.

ROTATE PAGE allows you to turn pages 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise.Click on the page to return to the original orientation. To zoom in on a rotated page, return the page to its original orientation, zoom in, and
then rotate it again.

CONTENTS displays a table of sections with thumbnails and descriptions.

ALL PAGES displays thumbnails of every page in the issue. Click on
a page to jump.

UAS
&ROBOTICS Programs and Technology in Unmanned Aerial Systems and Combat Robotics
Unmanned command and
control going universal
Architecture needed
that will enable
war ghters to control
unmanned vehicles
with a single device
Military and industry researchers are
working on ways of simplifying the control
of unmanned systems as the number and
types used by the armed services con-
tinue to grow.
The goal is to develop an architec-
ture that would enable individual service
members to control different types of
unmanned vehicles with a single device --
not just to make them work together better
on the battlefield, but also to save money.
Currently, each unmanned system has its
own unique control architecture.
In the past, the lack of interoperabil-
ity has made unmanned systems less
effective than they could be and more
costly, leading the Pentagon to order the
development of a control architecture that
would be as open as possible.
Over the past year, engineers at the
Office of Naval Research (ONR) have
developed software that enables a
single controller to talk to different kinds
of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The software tests were done with the
Bi-Directional Remote Video Terminal
(BDVRT), a handheld device about the
size of an iPad developed by Kutta Tech-
nologies of Phoenix, Ariz. for use by Army
troops in Afghanistan and Iraq .
In the experiments, engineers were
able to fully control the vehicle and its
payload utilizing two different software
sets, with the controllers using each one
BY CHARLES HOSKINSON
to hand the vehicle back and forth.
"We were essentially able to take some-
thing written by one company and plug in
another and still control the vehicle," said
Wayne Perras, director of experimentation
for ONR's Command, Control, Communi-
cations, Computers, Intelligence, Sur-
veillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR)
department. "We've used old software and
we made it now completely interoperable."
Computer code that took years to devel-
op was rewritten and made interoperable
across a number of UAVs in just 30 days
as part of the experiment, Perras said. The
language was optimized to enable each
vehicle to perform its unique functions with
a common interface, replacing what he
called the "ludicrous and totally unafford-
able" structure of unique control systems.
The experiments, which started in
July 2012, indicated that a common
architecture can also be used to con-
trol unmanned ground, sea surface and
underwater vehicles as well, but that
hasn't yet been confirmed by testing, said
Jerry Desrosiers, technology transition
and experimentation lead for the Naval
Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, R.I.
Northrop Grumman in December
demonstrated that open architecture-
based command and control software and
hardware could be used to operate an
Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned
aircraft.
The demonstration was part of the
company's efforts toward a common
mission-management control system
product that can be used on a variety of
unmanned platforms.
"This demonstration validates our
approach to common, modular, multiplat-
form mission-control systems," said Doug
Valenzuela, Northrop Grumman's program
manager for the Ground Station Technical
Refresh program. "We were able to reuse
components from proven programs and
integrate them into a common standards-
based infrastructure to establish a base-
line that will meet the requirements of
multiple programs." ■
A TigerShark unmanned aerial vehicle descends to land at an undisclosed location in the
U.S. Central Command area of operations following a mission in 2011. The TigerShark is
deployed by the U.S. Navy Naval Air Systems Command special surveillance program.
22 APRIL/MAY 2013 | DefenseSystems.com